Phil Mickelson predicts an “exponentially better” future for golf after the end of current “disruption phase”
Phil Mickelson, as part of LIV Golf, set out to disrupt golf. Their expressed goal was to change the way the sport operates, and in order to do that, they had to at least try breaking the status quo.
Whether or not they have succeeded or are on their way to success, the status quo has absolutely changed. Golf right now is not the same as it was years ago.
This is something Mickelson knows well. In fact, he believes this period of golf is about to give way to a much better version of the sport. If LIV and those who seek to change how things are done succeed, things may get better soon according to the golfer.
Mickelson said (via Golf.com):
“I would agree we’re in the middle of a disruption phase, but where we’re going to end up and where we will be when this gets sorted through is going to be exponentially better than where we were in the path that we were on."
Part of this is because of social media. He lauded Bryson DeChambeau's work on YouTube, adding that the average age of a PGA Tour fan has gone up to 65. On the other hand, LIV is “targeting a much different, much younger generation.”
Phil Mickelson discusses past role with PGA Tour
Lefty, as Phil Mickelson is affectionately called, claimed he has always tried to build the sport of golf. In his career on the PGA Tour, he says he did everything he could to make the sport as prominent as he could. Now with LIV, he is trying to do the same.
Mickelson said (via Golf.com):
“For 30-plus years I did everything I could to help build the PGA Tour brand, and I would be brought in to help close the deal with many CEOs when they were on the brink of potentially signing a deal, whether it was Bob Diamond at Barclays, it was Rick Waddell at Northern Trust, it was the guys at Shell, Marvin Odom. There were about seven to 10 times that I would come in and try to close the deal. That was my way to help trying to build the PGA Tour at that time. I’m no longer part of the Tour.”
Instead of building what exists into something better, Mickelson's focus has shifted. He says he's now trying to build something different. He claimed he tried for decades to do that internally with the PGA Tour, but it didn't work.
Phil Mickelson said he feels as if "this is a better way to go to achieve the things that I want to achieve in the game.”